Sunday, February 24, 2013

When several different people recommend something, I usually listen. This was the case with two documentary films: Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead and Forks over Knives. Both films are about moving from calorie-dense foods to nutrient-dense foods for optimal well-being. While the science was convincing, I know that any research results can be skewed in the direction you want them to go, so I was more impressed by the actual fat human beings transforming themselves by eating a diet heavy in fresh whole fruits and vegetables. The results were remarkable, inspiring, and compelling.

I bought a juicer and I signed up with an old friend who is addiction-savvy and well trained in coaching for health and well-being. I'm coming it at from the point of well-being, however, that may look and feel for me.

Friday, February 8, 2013

Last Saturday, after weeks of careful use of remedies and potions and preventions, I succumbed to one of the nasty viruses making the circuit. I've had, I think, what one friend called the "clu," more than a cold, less than the flu. I felt something coming on for a couple of days and then I woke up SICK. Feverish, coughing, blowing, crap. I was way down for three days and then slowly began to feel better.

I cancelled everything: work, play, everything and slept and read and watched Netflix in the evenings. I didn't eat much, didn't care (that's when I knew I was really sick). My good neighbor Melanie brought me kleenex and ibuprofen and another friend brought teas and daffodils but other than that, I didn't really see anybody until today (when I was finally well enough to go to acupuncture). And even there I had two very limited exchanges.

Yesterday, I realized I was sinking into some old feelings of isolation. In the last years of my using, there were strings of days, particularly in the summer when I wasn't teaching or during vacations, when I would drink and see and talk to no one unless it was the liquor store clerk. I wouldn't answer the phone (what for?). I wouldn't call anyone. And there's a kind of malaise that goes with that, a soul sickness that is both frightening and seductive.

I live alone and work at home and so I spend a good deal of time on my own. But most days I go to the gym with Melanie or see clients or run errands or have tea with a friend. I'm out and engaged in the world. I haven't been for the last week and while I never once thought of drinking, some of the old -ism was creeping around the edges. Glad I see it for what it is. Glad I made plans to get out tomorrow.

Friday, February 1, 2013

I'm very excited to announce the publication of two new books. The first, The Color of Longing, is a novel I completed in 2009. I had had such a good time writing it that I immediately moved on to writing a second novel (the one that is in negotiation with the publisher in New York). Then last summer I decided I would self-publish Longing, just get it out there and see what can happen. It took me a while to edit it, get it proofread, make some changes, proofread again. But mostly I couldn't seem to paint the image that I had in mind for the cover. Then in November, that happened and I moved ahead.

Here's a brief synopsis:

What’s a guy to do when the woman he’s loved for 15 years asks for help leaving her alcoholic husband? And what if that husband is his best friend? In this unconventional romance, artist Jake Logan makes a painful and inevitable choice that sets him adrift. Crisscrossing the country with his cat Sadie, he seeks answers to his quest from several helpful strangers, but it isn’t until he has a deep spiritual encounter with himself that he begins to find his true way home.

The second book is a how-to book called Sober Play: Using Creativity for a More Joyful Recovery. It promotes using creative self-expression in any number of forms and media to have a more joyful life. This has long been an important part of my own recovery from alcoholism and I wanted to share all I've learned and all I believe about the connection between creativity and recovery.

Both books are available on amazon and kindle and through me at jill@jillkellyauthor.com. If you read one or the other and like it, I hope you'll review the book on amazon for me. Happy reading!